Pierre Neuville Dies at 83 After Prostate Cancer Battle
The Belgian grinder’s best-known result was a seventh-place finish in the 2015 WSOP Main Event, capped by years of EPT runs and a late-career return to live poker.
Pierre Neuville, the Belgian poker legend, died at 83 after a long battle with prostate cancer. Earlier in the month of his death, he said he wanted to "continue living as long as possible."
Neuville reached seventh place and earned $1,203,293, his first and only seven-figure score. He had sat down fourth in chips.
Card Player reported that Neuville bagged the lead after Day 5 with 7,105,000 chips, and that the tournament had been pared to 69 players by the end of Day 5. AP, via GoErie, later reported that he went out in seventh place after moving all-in against Joe McKeehen with ace-jack suited. The same report said the 2015 Main Event drew 6,420 entries before it reached the final seven.
PokerNews had previously described Neuville as the oldest player at that final table, at 72, and said he carried the nickname "The Serial Qualifier" after making 23 consecutive EPT Main Event qualifiers. He also finished runner-up in European Poker Tour Main Events in 2009 and 2012, and twice missed out on a WSOP bracelet with second-place finishes in the $5,000 six-max event in 2014 and the $1,500 six-max event in 2016.
Neuville was born on January 2, 1943, in Montigny-le-Tilleul, Belgium, discovered poker in 1957, and played regularly while studying at Universite Libre de Bruxelles from 1963 to 1969. After graduating, he designed a board game named after Eddy Merckx, built a toy company in 1969, sold it to Hasbro in 1982, spent the next decade as vice president, started a consulting service in 1993, and fully retired in 2008.
After retiring, Neuville pursued poker more seriously. In May 2025, he revealed that he had been diagnosed with late-stage prostate cancer, and PokerNews said his last public appearance in a live poker event came during the 2025 PokerStars Open Namur festival.
